The Pelosivilles In Your Future

The GOP House leadership is now bluntly declaring what everyone who followed the story today knows: Nancy Pelosi killed the bailout bill with a blistering attack on Republicans just prior to the start of the vote. The Speaker cost millions of Americans hundreds of millions in retirement savings today because she could not resist using her position to slam her political opponents even after they had met her more than half way.

UPDATE: A representative e-mail:

Some blog comments ask if it is wise to blame Pelosi for today’s vote failure. I actually think it is – and could benefit McCain. Up until this morning, we all assumed the long weekend of work would culminate in an up vote for the plan. But Pelosi couldn’t keep her mouth shut and couldn’t control her urge to inject politics prior to the vote. This calamity on Wall St. was too big to play these games now- and she blew it. This was a time for all to suck it up and get this bill passed so the economy could begin recovering. I thought I had never been angrier – having to swallow this bailout thanks to bad govt. policies interjected into the banking business and carried over to Wall St. – until today!! I’m no policy wonk- no pundit- but I place blame for this failure today squarely on the Dems – and by extension Obama and his crew.

Wall Street didn’t collapse today. The House of Representatives did. And Pelosi is its leader. She should be fired. Vote against every Democrat.

UPDATE 3: Dean Barnett assesses the fallout, both economic and political. He thinks the GOP takes the blame for the meltdown, but I don’t think that is the case. In the old days the president and his party got blamed for such fiascos, but not that’s not necessarily the case in a new media environment where all the facts are availabkle to any interested party. There is a huge anger building against all incumbents, and how it courses is anyone’s guess at this moment.